Vestibular schwannoma screening: closing the audit loop

Completion of an audit loop assessing vestibular schwannoma screening pract ice in a sub-regional ENT centre shows good agreement between the guideline s given and indications used for selecting patients to undergo screening MR Ig. The proportion of cerebellopontine angle tumours diagnosed is consisten t with other reports from the United Kingdom. During the audit period the p roportion of patients screened because of unilateral tinnitus increased, bu t not beyond a reasonable estimate of the proportion that could expect to b e screened because of this symptom. There was a reduction in the number of inappropriate scan requests after introduction of a guideline reminder. Dur ing the initial period after introducing screening guidelines there is incr eased screening activity, but this plateaus at a steady level.